Dreams do come true
Trip Start
Jul 12, 2006
1
118
230
Trip End
Jun 18, 2007
Sydney,
Australia
Sunday, December 3, 2006
We had to navigate through quarantine with our packed lunch but needn't have worried, Tim Tams, oat bars and packet crisps are apparently ok to enter the country, had we had a salami in there or a ham and cheese sarnie it might have been another story! As we came out the airport I was hit by something weird, unusual, I almost didn't realise what it was but then bells rang in my head and I rememebered it was warmth, coming from the sun - hooray! The taxi driver told us it had been a hot day today, 35c, and you could still feel it now. The temp when we arrived was down to 30c but it felt a lot warmer, being in jeans didn't help.
It took about half an hour to get to our good friend Kenny's. He lives near Bondi Beach and his abode has been our home for the past three nights.
Bondi Beach
Kenny lives on the top floor of an apartment bloke and the views from his balcony are great, you can see the sea and everything. It was fab to see Kenny again, Lee used to live with him back in Birmingham but he moved to Oz about 4 years ago so it was great to see a familiar face. Not only Kenny though, Fay and Ad as well, who also used to live in Brum and are currently doing a year working in Oz. I can't tell you how fab it's been to be with friends again. I miss my family and friends so much so to be with familiar faces for a whole weekend, drinking and eating and generally catching up and laughing over old stories etc... has just been the best. The weird thing is I think we all kept forgetting we were in Sydney. I think all of us at some point over the weekend kept expecting to see Brum or London outside the window.Friday night we met up with Kenny's other half and a friend and went for lush tapas opposite Bondi Beach. I was introduced to the concept of BYO, never done it before, which was kind of cool. The tapas was delish. Once we were stuff with food we headed over to the bottle shop to grab some booze to drink on the beach. Fay and I opted for a bottle of fizzy wine to celebrate while the boys grabbed some beer tasting fizz of their own. We grabbed a patch on the grass and the gossip flowed as much as the alcohol. I think it must have been about an hour later or something when the local friendly cops came to move us on. Bondi is an alcohol free zone 24/7. We did all know this and it was kind of cheeky but we played dumb and just apologies and walked back to Kenny's.
Central Sydney
The cops were perfectly friendly about it and even commented on Ad's good taste in beer. I was chuffed that I had something else to add to my 'things to do before I'm 30' list, I've never been moved on by the police before so I thought I'd add that to it for good measure! We headed back to Kenny's flat and finished off our bought booze, before we had an impromptu cocktail party with Johnny's excellent cocktail making skills and the bottle of gin I'd purchased at Duty Free. It was a great great night, even better that I was able to go out without my coat on and not be cold.
Bondi seemed a lovely place, I was so excited when I saw the beach. Most people think it's not as big as they were expecting for somewhere so famous but I was dead chuffed by seeing it. All the surfers in the water and everything. Walking down to the beach is great as well, there's loads of cool shoe and clothes shops and lots of little places to eat and drink. I think cool is good word to describe the place, it has a really nice chilled atmosphere and lots of pretty people walking buy. The lonely planet says Bondi 'Lords it over other beaches' but I'm not sure if that's a bit harsh or not as I haven't been to any other beaches yet.
Saturday night was our big night out so Friday night we jsut had the one gin cocktail and then all went to bed. When we woke up on Saturday morning the weather was rubbish, it was a lot cooler than Friday and it also looked like it was going to chuck it down. It was like being back in NZ again! We decied to take beach stuff anyway and headed out to the waterfront to grab some brekkers.
Circular Quay
Food was lovely, we ate with a view of Bondi beach before heading into the shops to do a bit of shopping. Once we were all shopped out and Johhy had kindly taken it back to Kenny's. Lee, Fay, Ad and I headed to the beach. Bondi Beach. How blooming cool is that? Here I was, in Sydney, heading to Bondi beach. It doesn't get much better than that. Apparently people are dissapointed by Bondi because it's not as big as everyone thinks but I thought it was great. The sand was like walking on soft golden digestive biscuit crumbs, it was golden and soft and warm. The weather wasn't as great as it could be but it was warm and once I'd changed into my swimmin cozzie I was straight into the sea. Oh my lord was the sea rough, I have never been into the sea when the waves have been that big and that strong. I can easily see how people can get pulled under and swept away. The beach was great though, really busy. The surf school was busy, they were giving lessons in the sea and I'vfe resolved to learn how to surf now.
The water was good though, it wasn't cold at all but he clouds came in after a while so I came out, dried off and then we headed over to the pub, or rather the hotel, as they are called over here. Fay and I managed to sneak in some shopping while the boys were in the pub, but when we got back oh my god the weather turned, it was like New Zealand all ove again. The rain poured it down, the weather got cold and it was rubbish. Exactly the opposite of what I'd expect Sydney to be. We waited the rain out for a few beers before heading off for some lush fish and chips just off of the beach front.
We spent the rest of the weekend catching up with everyone, going out, drinking and eating and generally enjoying being with friends again. Lee and I still don't have a plan, apart from the fact that we're going to go South I think, towards Melbourne, but we need to get something sorted pronto as we don't have much time left before we have to be back here for Chrimbo. And as for Chrimbo, I can't tell you how weird it is, even weirder than NZ because it's warm here. Bizarre, really can't get my head around that one.
Before we do leave here I'm hoping to mett up with a friend who I used to work with in London, Helen. She moved to Sydney about a month ago after getting married. So a few beers planned when I meet her I hope.
